Rajan Patel

My Favorite Puzzle

Rajan Patel (15, USA)

A large debate over many cubers is what the best puzzle is, and people can argue over this for hours on end. However, I personally believe that all puzzles and cubes are great in their own ways, but there is one puzzle I feel rises past all the others. This puzzle is the 2×2.

2x2 Cube

Many people question why I feel this is the greatest puzzle, and they would be right in doing so. After all, this is arguably one of the easiest puzzles there is. Being the easiest puzzle there is should put it down near the bottom of the list, right?

The main reason I love the 2×2 so much is because it is so easily taught to anyone who wants to learn it. After all, when someone sees one of us fingertricking away on one of our cubes, obviously they’ll be intrigued. They’ll walk over and ask, “Whoa, how do you do that.” In which you’ll nonchalantly respond after hearing the question so many times, “Oh, yeah. I just learn a few algorithms.” Routinely, they’ll counter, “W-w-w-well I just peel of the stickers” and walk away with away with a smirk on their face.

Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. When using a 2×2, you can easily walk someone through a solve in a few minutes and they’ll be met with a strong feeling of accomplishment. After this encounter, they may become interested in cubing and decide to buy their first cube or two. From there, they’ll memorize the algorithms for the cube they’re learning and show off their skills to you the next week, beaming brighter than the sun.

“Look, I can solve it”, they say and, “It only takes me three minutes!” They then go off to show it to others who feign a slight interest and then give them a monotonous “cool” or “nice.” While others might not care, we will know deep inside that we have personally introduced someone to the great and wonderful addiction we call a cubin